Just received in Hong Kong, thanks Chris (the original owner who ordered it in 1975) for selling this bass to me instead of keeping it under the bed. Custom with series II electronics, refinished/reconditioned by Alembic a few years ago and looking stunning. Plays like butter with a very low profile neck, long scale, tree of life inlay...

Details include red leds, and an amazing looking purpleheart (?) neck. The hum canceller brass ring is also a thing of beauty, you can not feel where the wood stops and the brass starts. I've been forgetting to stop for meals since this arrived...

Hello Barnes, it seems to be chambered on the top side, but not very much due to the big arm cut away. The cut away is really a thing of beauty as there is also a "belly cut" on the back side of the bass, so when looking from the top it has a real 3-d shape to it.

Elwoodblue I'll get some shots of the back to show the neck colour - it is very vibrant, the transition to the headstock is also special.

The controls are a bit different too, instead of two volumes there is a master and a blend with a centre notch. I like it a lot, but it does make the pickup selection switch redundant for a mono signal.

I was previously under the perception that instruments should never be refinished. Then I acquired AC070 and saw HOW Alembic do their refinish work. I'll be sending back the 78 Cocobolo bass for a recondition when I get a chance - it will come up amazing, I am sure of that.

Hal, I'm with you now - AC070 looks new, feels new and plays new, it's a beautiful thing. So much for cool checked patina. Weathered finishes probably only look so good on some other instruments because their original finish/wood was dull to begin with.

I tried to be nostalgic, but I can't do it no more. I believe in upgrading, I just think its part of the nature of things.

Lets face it, the wood is already dead, and it going through a decaying life-cycle. Perhaps we can slow down the process with a re-finish, we can play the thing and not just be a piece of non-playable artifact. A new finish adds value, if the value is about playing your bass for as long as possible. I see no differences than people upgrading their soft brass (which are prone to break) screws with steel ones.

They don't make them like they used to. There were a few original parts that came with the bass, the original string anchor and the original brass hum canceller surround. The ones that were fabricated for the rebuild are so much better/higher quality/more accurate. Also all screws now have threaded inserts, and the upgraded electronics are silent (Not enough hiss to even tell that the amp/monitors are on).

There is enough nostalga in the wood with all the notes that it remembers, doesn't need cracks in the finish

I was referring to the fancy fingerboard as the "tree of life" inlay, but I notice that some of the others that are similar are a bit "leafier" than mine, so perhaps this is not right? I'm not sure who actually did the inlay work back in 1975-76. I'd love to find out what the official specs of the bass are. I'm sure there is a file that is over a mile long at the factory with the upgrade work that was done. I agree on the top = Schedua

The quasi-Tree Of Life inlay was designed (mostly) by Susan, with LOTS of annoying input from me.

The most important piece of it (to me, at the time) was the inclusion of the Libra glyph at the first position. Yep! Look closely, and you'll see how Susan masterfully worked that in.

The LED dimmer option was something that they had never had to deal with before. As a matter of fact, they wondered WHY I would want lights - AND have the option to dim them, too! Regardless, my insanity prevailed.

The neck was (very loosely) modeled after a '63 Fender C neck. I had it shaved so thin, that they had to reverse the neck laminates and make as PH/WA/PH/WA/PH. They were not very happy about having to use all of that Purple Heart in one neck!

That's it (for now). If anyone has any questions, I'll be checking-in from time-to-time (now that I'm largely over the trauma of selling "my left arm")

Itīs been a while since we last emailed but just wanted to let you know that 76AC070 is with me living and building wind farms in Ecuador. Sheīs coping with the altitude very well and Ive been jamming with the Andeans here.

Left all the other basses in China and Australia. Canīt bare to leave this one.